David Copperfield as Media : Interactions between David's Travels and Simultaneity

Abstract

Most of the works by Charles Dickens were published in serial forms. It is widely recognized that this medium compelled the author to have a suspenseful climax or cliff-hanger in each number to keep readers interested. Since this form limits the length of the material, Dickens must have already determined the end of the story before he started writing. Marshall McLuhan calls this composition style "simultaneity". It has not been discussed, however, how the travels of the main character enabled Dickens to deal with the restriction. Simultaneity controls the work and Dickens was to first to employ it as a way to create a sense of a journey with an ultimate destination that became a characteristic of nineteenth century media in Britain. This paper shows that the frequent travels of David in David Copperfield was shaped by this serial form and exemplifies simultaneity. It shows that David is always aware of each destination and the end of the story since he has the sense of simultaneity. This is clearly shown through comparisons with Joseph Andrews and with The Pilgrim's Progress. Both are works whose stories are connected to their hero's travels and published before the nineteenth century. The comparisons clarify that David is unique for he is the only character among these works whose travels are controlled by and have simultaneity, and therefore he is always strongly aware of his final destination.